Phase III Offensive

The Phase III Offensive was the third communist offensive launched in 1968 during the Vietnam War, occurring from 17 August to 27 September 1968.

Despite the failure of the Tet Offensive and the May Offensive, North Vietnamese leader Le Duan ignored the advice of his Chinese and NVA advisors (sending the Chinese advisors back to China and firing his NVA advisors) and ordered a third offensive against South Vietnam in August 1968. Tay Ninh, Loc Ninh, Da Nang, and Quang Ngai were targeted by 5 NVA and Viet Cong divisions. The result was the same as Tet and May, and the communists lost 17,000 more men. Thousands of fresh recruits were ordered south to replace them, and university students, the sons of party officials, and the wealthy managed to escape the draft, while poor people from the countryside were heavily drafted. Thousands of replacements made their way down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to reinforce the communist forces, although, by the end of the offensive, the NVA was approaching exhaustion.